I don't know how I feel about this.

[Jackie]

Blimey, I get the impression some would argue black was white on here (pun intended).
I personally think if you think a person like this should still have a statue standing in their honour then you are part of the problem.

This statue has been very controversial in Bristol for a long time, and quite rightly so. That’s been resolved now in a very symbolic way.

[wilbro]

Yes dismantle the statue but not in this manner. They was no reason behind what the yob mob did other than enjoy some "licensed" vandalism. Howling and shrieking like the drunks (which some of them no doubt were) that one sees and hears in any UK town or city after midnight on Saturday. Is it really the way the way the UK wants to go?

[After the Storm]

Flaneur, if you don't trust what others tell you do a little research.

I'm going to - only got the phone at the moment and that means it's tricky to check reliability of sources.

Are you doubting other people's sources on here or your own? Would be good to have clarification on that.

[wilbro]

The mobs are also going to create misery and death for others as it's a certainty that the virus will escalate as a result of this stupidity. "Sorry you are gasping for breath and you are dying Granma but I helped throw a statue in the riiver so it was worth it, don't you agree?"

[After the Storm]

If toppling the statue wasn't symbolic enough ...

It's open to interpretation of course but I think this police superintendent may have approved of what happened.

I was impressed with what he said when I saw this last night, I thought he did subtly make clear he understood the grievance and he also made the right decision regarding how to react to the situation. Smart man.

[Flaneur]

Are you doubting other people's sources on here or your own? Would be good to have clarification on that.

My source was ATS

[After the Storm]

The mobs are also going to create misery and death for others as it's a certainty that the virus will escalate as a result of this stupidity. "Sorry you are gasping for breath and you are dying Granma but I helped throw a statue in the riiver so it was worth it, don't you agree?"

What makes you think that they wont respect social distancing with their Granny?

[exile]

Here we go: http://www.historyofparliamentonline.or ... -1636-1721

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... r-protests

Can't see any support for the figures being bandied about, though, which was the point I was querying, apart from on the usual suspects like Twitter, Buzzfeed, and probably Facebook. There is no doubt he was involved in slavery and got out of it probably through pique.

I find it fascinating the way something becomes "a fact" once it has been repeated enough. It's how people like Trump, Farage and Cummings-Johnson operate, but it should have no place in a civilised society (like NFF ).

Just had another thought, but it needs another thread.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/explore/how-did-s ... nd-britain

Look at the numbers and do the maths. I reckon around 450,000 slaves did not make it across the Atlantic. Coulson is quoted on the BBC Bitesize website as have a monopoly of the trade during his time. I think we can assume a significant number of slaves died en voyage during his ownership of the trade. 19000? 29000? 9000? Does it matter? He has significant blood on his hands.

[Flaneur]

In Ally's words, having a ring of police around such a statue and defending it would not be "a good look". As AtS says, a wise decision.

[wilbro]

A quote from Martin Luther King's letter when he was in Birmingham jail

"You may well ask: “Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches and so forth? Isn’t negotiation a better path?” You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue."

Nonviolent being the operative word.